Finding Balance: What a Stressful Year Taught Me About Rest, Joy, and Letting Go

After a year filled with change, growth and discovery, Courtney Simms reflects on the small but meaningful changes that helped her rediscover joy, restore balance, and move through life with greater ease. With warmth and openness, she shares simple insights on rest, presence, and letting go—offering an encouraging reminder that even subtle shifts can create space for clarity, connection, and renewal.

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The Tilles Foundation is committed to improving the lives of children and youth in the Greater St. Louis Region through innovative charitable investments in leading-edge organizations. The Tilles Foundation makes approximately $1 million in grants per year. The Foundation is managed by The Board of Trustees which meets periodically during the year. Introduction forms will open January 1, 2026.

 Click here to learn more and access the introduction form.

YouthBridge Community Foundation is now accepting applications for a range of grant opportunities supporting children, youth, and the organizations that serve them across the St. Louis region. From bold, innovative ideas to multi-year capacity building and collaborative partnerships, these grants are designed to strengthen organizations, invest in sustainability, and create lasting community impact. Funding opportunities include support for youth innovation, nonprofit sustainability, child welfare capacity building, early childhood program expansion, youth entrepreneurship, faith-rooted community care, and youth-led philanthropy — including programs in partnership with Gateway Children’s Charity and First Bank. Click here to learn more.

Join fellow nonprofit philanthropy consultants from across the country for two energizing days of professional growth, connection, and inspiration at the APC Virtual Winter Forum, January 29–30, 2026. Experience a candid and energizing discussion of the fundraising challenges nonprofit organizations face in these challenging times and come away with data points, new perspectives, and communication strategies that you can apply to your own consulting practice. Click here to learn more and register. 

The Rome Group invites you to join us and other nonprofit professionals at our upcoming happy hour on February 10, 2026 from 5:00-7:00pm at Beffa's Bar & Restaurant. Make new connections, catch up with old friends, and enjoy a cocktail or mocktail. Registration is free. Cash bar. Click here to RSVP.

Join Small Firm Diaries USA and Data for Social Impact, an initiative of the Center for Social Development at Washington University St. Louis, to explore early findings on the financial lives of small businesses in low-income neighborhoods, with a focus on marginalized entrepreneurs. This free event on February 24, 2026 from 8:30am-12pm, offers a unique opportunity to network and learn with researchers, practitioners, and community partners working to strengthen small business ecosystems locally and nationally. Space is limited, so please RSVP early. Click here to RSVP and learn more.

Four years ago, Heather McGhee examined a question at the heart of American life: Why do so many Americans believe that progress for one group means loss for another? She traveled the country talking to factory workers, homeowners who'd lost everything, organizers, and scholars, trying to understand where that belief comes from, and what it costs us. This MLK Day, McGhee spoke with Tonya Mosley about this and how it comes on the heels of President Trump's comments that civil rights protections resulted in white people being “very badly treated.” McGhee’s book is ‘The Sum of Us.’ Click here to listen.